Electronic device comprising semiconducting polymers

Abstract

An electronic device comprises a semiconducting polymer of Formula (I):wherein X is independently selected from S, Se, O, and NR, wherein R is independently selected from hydrogen, alkyl, substituted alkyl, aryl, substituted aryl, heteroaryl, and —CN;Ar is independently a conjugated divalent moiety;a is an integer from 1 to about 10; andn is an integer from 2 to about 5,000.The electronic device may be an organic thin film transistor.

Description

BACKGROUND[0001]The present disclosure relates, in various embodiments, to compositions and processes suitable for use in electronic devices, such as thin film transistors (“TFT”s). The present disclosure also relates to components or layers produced using such compositions and processes, as well as electronic devices containing such materials.[0002]Thin film transistors (TFTs) are fundamental components in modern-age electronics, including, for example, sensors, image scanners, and electronic display devices. TFT circuits using current mainstream silicon technology may be too costly for some applications, particularly for large-area electronic devices such as backplane switching circuits for displays (e.g., active matrix liquid crystal monitors or televisions) where high switching speeds are not essential. The high costs of silicon-based TFT circuits are primarily due to the use of capital-intensive silicon manufacturing facilities as well as complex high-temperature, high-vacuum p...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

TFT circuits using current mainstream silicon technology may be too costly for some applications, particularly for large-area electronic devices such as backplane switching circuits for displays (e.g., active matrix liquid crystal monitors or televisions) where high switching speeds are not essential.

The high costs of silicon-based TFT circuits are primarily due to the use of capital-intensive silicon manufacturing facilities as well as complex high-temperature, high-vacuum photolithographic fabrication processes under strictly controlled environments.

N-type organic semiconductors having high electron mobility and stability in air, especially solution processable n-type semiconductors, are rare due to their air sensitivity and difficulties in synthesis compared to p-type semiconductors.

However these electron-withdrawing groups can only be used as substituents or sidechains on conjugated cores such as acenes, phthalocyanines, and oligothiophenes, and cannot be used as conjugated divalent linkages themselves for constructing linear n-type semiconducting polymers.

Most reported high-mobility air-stable n-type semiconductors are small molecular compounds and can only be processed using expensive vacuum deposition techniques to achieve maximum performance.

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